Child Sponsorship

June has been an anticipated month for 12 women in the indigenous community of Hanuabada in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

After participating in a survey on “women’s views on reusable hygiene pads”, the 12 women patiently waited to be the first in their community to use the sanitary pads dubbed as mun pads.

Mun pads are washable cloth menstrual pads, which World Vision, through the New Zealand Government-funded Water and Healthy Life Project in Hanuabada, is helping introduce as an affordable and environment-friendly alternative to disposable sanitary pads and tampons, which are often too expensive for women from low income communities to afford.

“Many times I would see used sanitary pads and rubbish floating below houses and in the sea,” shared Dika Heni, 38 year-old mother of two children and one of the 12 participants to the survey. “This was never a good sight, but it happens almost every day,” she said.

Dika Heni, 38 year old mother of two, sits with her niece.

A big portion of the Hanuabada village is located near the coastline and many of its inhabitants have houses built on stilts over the ocean and on land near the sea.

Since 2016, World Vision has been helping communities in Hanuabada address water, sanitation, hygiene and solid waste issues that threaten the health and well-being of its 17,000 village residents. Menstrual hygiene management, a big component of the Project, helps mothers and their young daughters adapt good hygiene and sanitation practices to protect their health.

World Vision WASH Officer Claire Gangai explains to the women how to use the reusable pads.

“Most of the women in the community don’t always have ten kina (US$3.2) to spare for sanitary pads,” Dika said.

“For those who could afford, they don’t know how to dispose properly given the closely clustered houses and lack of areas for burning foul-smelled-items such as menstrual pads,” she added.

“The first time I heard about these reusable pads I was very happy because for a long time I used cloths for my menstrual cycle days and not plastic pads bought from the stores,” Dika shared.

Dika Heni is a woman of influence in her community because she is the Deaconess of the church that most of her people belong to, which is the United Church.

“I am happy I can introduce mun pads to my 14 year old daughter, Kaiyah, who had her first period early this year,” she added.

Dikas intends to take Kaiyah under her wings to show her how to practice a clean hygiene behavior and become an advocate against plastic pollution” by using reusable mun pads.

Dika says attending World Vision surveys and awareness has made her realized how uninformed choices of disposing rubbish and unclean hygiene practices can harm her health and that of her family’s and her surrounding environment.

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Her mother, 36-year-old Chaw Yupar, exclusively breastfed Hnin for months after she was born.

“When my daughter turned 6 months, I went out to work and left her at home with her elder siblings,” Chaw says. “They fed her snacks that were available from the local shop. I fed her my breast milk when I returned home in the evening.”

But when Hnin turned 2, she became very sick.

Worms leech nutrients out of tiny bodies

“She suffered from frequent bouts of diarrhea,” Chaw says. “I tried to treat her at home with my limited knowledge. She lost her weight as well. I had no idea what happened to her.”

Out of ideas, Chaw talked to a midwife, who told her Hnin had worms. She recommended Chaw take her daughter to the hospital.

“When I reached the clinic in Thabaung, the doctor accused me of delaying to bring my child,” Chaw says. “I didn’t understand at first, but later realized that if I had not brought her in, I would have lost her.

“The doctor gave my daughter medicine and deworming pills. After taking the treatment and pills, she felt better. World Vision supported all the medical costs.”

The medicine saved Hnin’s life, and she recovered.

Mothers learn healthy eating and hygiene habits

Chaw returned to work, again leaving her child with her older siblings. But once again, the siblings fed Hnin cheap food from the local snack shop. The food didn’t have the proper nutrients to support growth, so Hnin’s weight dropped, and she became severely malnourished.

This time, a World Vision intervention program in Chaw’s village helped. The program leaders identified 18 children in the community to participate, including Hnin.

The 12-day program taught mothers how to feed their children affordable, locally available foods to promote healthy child development. They also educated the moms about proper hygiene and health practices.

“At first, my daughter didn’t like the food, and she refused to eat,” Chaw says. “But she finally ate it.”

A new, healthy way of living

At the end of the program, Hnin’s weight had increased by 2.2 pounds to 21.2 pounds. Still, Hnin continued in another round of the program.

“I was surprised to see my daughter’s weight increase to 10.3 kilograms (22.7 pounds) after two sessions,” Chaw says with joy.

Things didn’t just improve for Hnin, but also for Chaw as a result of the program.

“Before, when I return home from the fields, I would immediately hold my daughter and feed her without washing my hands,” Chaw says. “I think my daughter got diarrhea because of this. I learned to wash my hands first before holding my child, as well as before feeding her.

“Now, I do not need to push her to eat. She asks herself. She also eats rice and curry at home. I try to prepare foods based on the ‘3 Food Groups’ chart [received in the program].”

As Chaw welcomes her seventh child into the world, she knows her new baby will not suffer from worms, diarrhea, and malnutrition like Hnin did.

“For this baby, I will practice the hygiene behavior and take care of the baby well so that she or he will not suffer like Hnin,” Chaw says with a smile.

Support children like Hnin, who deserves the opportunity to grow up and live healthily. You can help turn a child’s life better and fill it with so much hope by Sponsoring A Child .

“I had ideas but didn’t have the courage to express them,” reflected Asanai Poonsawad (Kung) on his past. He was one of the 60 people to receive the 2016 Model Youth Developer with Ethics and Morality pin from HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn as part of the Youth Developer project. Recalling the turning point in his life which brought him to where he is today, Kung said, “I participated in activities organised by World Vision (WV), which encourage youths to express themselves. It made me more outspoken.”

Kung is the son of a farmer in Chaloem Phra Kiat district, Nakhon Si Thammarat province where WV’s Sa Plaeng project works to improve the well-being of the local people. It was how Kung became Sa Plaeng project’s sponsored child back in grade 2. Throughout his primary school years, he received school uniforms, socks, shoes, books and other supplies that equipped him for schooling and lightened his family’s expenses. As he advanced to higher education levels, he joined the skill development camps. They served as the key that unlocked his hidden potential.

Kung shared, “The camp activities gave me the courage to start expressing myself. After attending the camps several times, I grew more outspoken until a WV staff let me become a mentor at the camp. Later I participated in activities that enhanced youth’s leadership capacity …(organised jointly by Sa Pleang project and state agencies).”

Receiving continued support not only enhanced Kung’s leadership, but also gave him the foresight to dream of studying up to university level.

Nevertheless, life is full of uncertainties. Kung’s mother passed away when he was studying in grade 9. The death of a beloved person uprooted his life. “At that moment, I thought there was nothing left for me anymore. I wanted to quit studying.”

At the time, encouragement and warm embraces from the people around Kung helped him regain strength.

“My father told me that he wanted me to be successful and would do everything to support me. WValso contributed a lot. My sponsor who sponsored me on behalf of his family wrote letters, encouraging me to study hard for my own future and family,” Kung said.

As such, Kung persevered to achieve his dream as well as joined youth leadership activities. Eventually he was selected to be the class president for Chaloem Phra Kiat Somdet Phra Srinakarin School in Nakhon Si Thammarat province when he was in grade 11.

Kung is currently pursuing his second year at Rajabhat University in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, studying Bachelor of Local Administration under the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. He is simultaneously performing his duty as a youth leader without fail.

“I’ve just partnered with WV in organising youth volunteer travelling activity. I brought youth leader volunteers from 5 schools in Chaloem Phra Kiat district to build fences at Ban Nam Sap School in Pak Phanang district. I was also the facilitator at WV’s youth leadership capacity building camp. Right now I’m also a member of the province’s children and youth council,” Kung articulated with pride, his wide smile revealing his white teeth. He added, “Doing this work gave me opportunities to work with the community and other people, which I think is very fulfilling.”

And this is what inspired Kung to write his own future as he aims to become Chaloem Phra Kiat district’s assistant officer after he completes his education.

“I want to develop my own hometown, improve the administrative system, education, sports and public health. I also want to promote the morality and ethics of the community people,” Kung said.

WV believes that over the next few years, Chaloem Phra Kiat district will celebrate the arrival of a skillful district assistant officer by the name of ‘Asanai Poonsawad’.

Support those like Kung, who deserves the opportunity to live healthily and to realise their dreams they never thought of. You can help turn a child’s life better and fill it with so much hope by Sponsoring A Child .

In Cambodia, Phally Pheng’s passion to teach began with her sponsor’s encouragement

Michael Czobit | February 2015

PHALLY PHENG LIKES GETTING kids’ hands up in the air. A former sponsored child who now teaches in northeast Cambodia, she works hard to teach in ways that engage her students. She wants her students to participate — for their hands to spring up in excitement when she asks a question.

One morning, the 21-year-old teacher calls a boy to the blackboard. He doesn’t hesitate to pick up the chalk. This boy, like all the children in her classroom, is sponsored. Phally knows education can change their lives — just as education changed hers.

Phally’s only dream as a child was to become a teacher. “I told my sponsor this, and she encouraged me to study hard,” she says. If the boy working diligently at the blackboard follows his teacher’s example of adding determination to sponsorship, his dream could also come true.

Sponsorship sends Phally to school

Phally remembers well the days before World Vision and child sponsorship arrived. Her parents were farmers, but they didn’t earn enough to support her and her younger sister and brother. Phally’s parents had to borrow money from her aunt to pay school fees.

But then, when she turned 9, someone began to sponsor her through World Vision, and Phally was able to go to school. She initially attended classes held outdoors because her community didn’t have a building for the children to learn in. Phally says, “We weren’t encouraged without a building.”

But as World Vision’s work in Samlot continued, the community changed in many ways. “There was a lot of development,” says Phally. “World Vision built a well, roads, and school buildings.” Phally adds that the well, in particular, made life easier. “We used to fetch water as far as eight kilometers (nearly five miles) away. But after we had the well, it was easy for us to get water.”

Ready access to water is helping more children go to school instead of carrying water throughout the day. As a result, all children in Phally’s community are now enrolled in primary school, and 60 percent of younger children attend preschool.

Nurturing the seeds of learning

As Phally progressed from grade to grade, she saw the need for more teachers to plant the seeds of learning in young minds like hers. She began to think that perhaps she too could be a teacher one day. “When I was growing up, we didn’t have enough teachers,” she says. “I found this didn’t encourage us to go to school. I wanted to help my community.”

Along with benefiting from the work that World Vision did in her community, Phally also enjoyed an ongoing relationship with her sponsor, who sent her letters twice a year. “She would ask about my family and my schooling,” Phally says. “She wanted to know how I was doing.” Phally would write back and tell her sponsor about her life and successes. In one letter, she shared about her dream of becoming a teacher.

“Faith is very important to people. People need God. I believe it will shape people to do good things.” — Phally Pheng, Former Sponsored Child

Her sponsor encouraged her to pursue that dream, a message Phally took to heart. After she finished high school, Phally went to college. Her Christian faith also motivated her to keep striving. “Faith is very important to people,” she says. “People need God. I believe it will shape people to do good things.”

For the past four years Phally has taught a number of grades and a variety of subjects. Her favorite subject is literacy because, she says, “I love reading.”

In class, she proudly wears a traditional Cambodian dress, but her pride in her students is even more evident. “Through sponsorship, children have a chance to gain knowledge,” she says. “They receive what they need.” Phally is proof of this — through sponsorship, she received what she needed to realize her dream.

Support those like Phally, who deserves the opportunity to live healthily and to realise their dreams they never thought of. You can help turn a child’s life better and fill it with so much hope by Sponsoring A Child .

Chattering and disorderly like a bunch of sparrows, third-grade students at Manit Wittaya School in Chiang Rai excitedly await the arrival of their new English teacher.

As the sound of footsteps grows louder, the class falls silent.

“Is this third grade?” the teacher asks, walking into the classroom.

Students in the front rows nod. All eyes are on the teacher as she puts her books on the teacher’s table.

It seems to the students that the new teacher is younger than all the female teachers in the school. Her big eyes are gentle and friendly. She smiles.

Like the other teachers, she wears a scout uniform, khaki skirt, and shirt with a pink and blue scarf.

“Good afternoon. I’m here to be your new English teacher,” she says. “My name is Sangla Nantheppong. You can call me Teacher La.”

Sangla turns around, picks up a piece of chalk, and writes her name on the blackboard.

Improving lives and livelihoods

Since she was the age of her students, Sangla dreamed that someday she would be a teacher.

Sangla always loved going to school as a child, but she worried that she might have to quit early, like her older sister who left school after sixth grade. Sangla’s anxiety even caused bad dreams.

Her father and mother, Sukam and Chansuay, worked as farm laborers, earning only about 120 baht, about $4 per day. It was not enough to support a family. Sangla’s parents argued about money and debts; her father was often out of work.

When she was in primary school, Sangla joined World Vision’s sponsorship program. She received school uniforms, shoes, and school supplies that helped her stay in school.

Sponsorship funding also made it possible for her parents and other community members to take part in agriculture training. Their livelihoods improved when they began raising chickens, and Sangla was able to remain in school.

“Having an education is very important. It enhances our skills and provides us with opportunities. SANGLA NANTHEPPONG

Teacher hopes to instill love of learning

From her early school days, Sangla studied hard and earned good grades. Letters from her World Vision sponsor sparked her interest in English.

She promised herself that one day she would write a letter in English all by herself.

Years later, her dream of becoming a teacher has been fulfilled — and she hopes to inspire her 185 third-grade students to learn English and pursue education.

Says Sangla: “Having an education is very important. It enhances our skills and provides us with opportunities.”

Somluck Khamsaen is a World Vision communications officer in Thailand.

Support children like Trang, who deserves the opportunity to live healthily and to realise their dreams they never thought of. You can help turn a child’s life better and fill it with so much hope by Sponsoring A Child .

“Once I stepped out of my village flying to Japan, I’ve learnt that generosity can change lives of poor farmers like my parents, and of shy kids as me”, reveals Trang.

“It was a beautiful country with kind-hearted people that I could never forget,” Trang recalled her visit to Japan meeting her sponsors seven years ago, when she was a World Vision’s sponsored child. “I had been very much shy until I joined World Vision’s children club. Frequently corresponding with my sponsors also encouraged me to fly my timidity away.”

Trang keeps all the photos of her first visit to Japan seven years ago.

Trang has taken a step closer to fulfilling her dream as she is now a student at an University of Education.

“Our stable income keeps our kids going to school,” affirmed Bui Van Toan, Trang’s father. “World Vision helped us join training courses where we learnt and practiced to raise pigs, chicken and to plan safe vegetables. So far, we’ve got paid off from what we learnt.”

With their annual income around US $2,200, Trang’s parents afford to send their three daughters to higher education, with the oldest having just graduated university and the youngest going to high school.

Recently, with World Vision’s support, farmers in Van Yen district where Trang’s family lives have got “the certificate of compliance with food safety regulations”. It means Trang’s mother can sell her vegetable to supermarkets.

“Once I stepped out of my village flying to Japan, I’ve learnt that generosity can change lives of poor farmers like my parents, and of shy kids as me,” reveals Trang.

Trang with her mother and younger sister

Support children like Trang, who deserves the opportunity to live healthily and to realise their dreams they never thought of. You can help turn a child’s life better and fill it with so much hope by Sponsoring A Child .

How far can you go as parents to save your child? How generous can you be to save someone’s life? With the help of his family and the generosity of others, 12-year-old Jomari is finally winning the battle for his life after being diagnosed with a fatal disability right after his birth.

It was 2004 when the Portugis family had just settled in Palawan, an island province far from their hometown in Bohol. They lived in a small but well-built house. Juris, the head of the family, had acquired a decent job. Life was starting to become convenient.

That same year, Sergia gave birth to Jomari, who was immediately diagnosed with a physical disability. This troubled Juris and Sergia because they knew that their child’s condition might put his life at risk.

The doctor who attended to Sergia revealed that her son has a renal and urinal disability. The disability prevented the infant to lose body wastes normally because of irregularity of the skin on his anal and reproductive organ.

“The doctor told me that an operation should be performed immediately before the trapped body wastes could cause infection to my son’s internal organs,” the mother was emotional as she tried to remember the exact words the doctor said.

The plan was to create a temporary hole on the child’s abdomen area so the wastes could be extracted regularly. Estimated to cost around P30,000, the couple were worried that the operation might not push through since they spent most of their expenses for the birth delivery.

Optimistic, Sergia believed in the generosity of others during her son’s time of need. She approached different offices, talked to many individuals and appealed for financial support or free health services. Her husband also doubled his efforts by accepting more work after his day job. They prayed tirelessly for their son’s healing.

And just like answered prayers, generous people came to answer their plea. The mayor of their town provided transportation expenses so the family can travel to Puerto Princesa, the province’s capital, for the abdomen operation. The doctor who attended to Jomari only asked P15,000 and even allowed the parents to pay only when they already could.

The infant’s operation was successful. He can already extract waste through the hole on his abdomen. His parents constantly watched over Jomari and made sure he had everything he needed.

However, it was only a matter of time that Jomari’s health became unstable because of his abnormal condition. They needed to bathe him using distilled water to avoid infection on his abdomen. The distilled water didn’t work for a time and Jomari got infected. He suffered from constant fever and unbearable pain.

“It was hard for me to see my son suffer through that pain all the time,” Sergia shared. “He was still only a few months old and to see my child cry all the time because of the complicated situation was unbearable.”

After continuous effort to seek for assistance and hardwork of the parents, Jomari finally got his anal organ operated when he turned a year old. He can already perform a normal bowel movement.

Years passed by, the family returned to Bohol – their hometown. The child continued to bear the hole on his abdomen for his urinal waste. It was only recently that Jomari became a member of World Vision, a development foundation working in the communities through child-focused projects. The organization helped by supporting the check-up expenses of the child.

In 2015, the boy’s reproductive organ was operated after a series of check-ups. His abdomen hole, along with the pain he suffered all those years, was already stitched closed.

“The doctors, the staff of World Vision, and every generous people who helped my son, we are very thankful for them,” the mother expressed.

Now on his elementary years in education, Jomari is living a normal life without the trouble of pain and discomfort. Though, he is still waiting for his final operation to fully recover, Jomari and his parents will continue to fight until he is finally healed.

“We don’t have enough but God is good and He continues to send generous people to help us,” said Sergia.

Support children like Jomari, who deserves the opportunity to live healthily and to realise their dreams they never thought of. You can help turn a child’s life better and fill it with so much hope by Sponsoring A Child .

Par is the head teacher of a World Vision-built school in Kakuma refugee camp. A South Sudanese citizen who left his country for a better life in Kenya. He’s guiding 4,800 primary school students through their education.

This is his story, in his own words.

“I was born in 1989, the same year my father was killed. I was in the womb. That’s why I was called Par. Par means crying after a father’s death. I had two older brothers. I grew up as a cow boy. A cow boy is somebody who herds cows, who takes care of the animals. Our family had 15 cows.

“After my father died, my mother had three other children. In 1996, my mother thought we should go to school. She took us to northern Sudan. We sold all our belongings and went for three years. I studied in Khartoum.

“However, more death in the family forced us to return to our homeland in South Sudan. My older brother was bitten by a scorpion and died. Another older brother died from sickness. I was suddenly the oldest boy at home. I returned to the struggle of life as a cow boy.

“By the time I was 14, I realized I needed to take charge and be responsible. I had to make sure my younger brother, sisters and my mother would survive.

“In 2004, our village received food aid. The organization said they were willing to take some children to study. I threw myself into their airplane when I heard that. I didn’t even tell my mother I was going. I left with 12 other boys.

“We were brought here to Kakuma Refugee Camp. We stayed at the camp as unaccompanied minors. We struggled every day – getting food, cooking, fetching water – everything we do, we do by ourselves. There was nobody to take care of us.

“That’s when I started my education. I started in Grade 3 and I continued to Grade 8. I started secondary school in 2011. In 2012, my uncle sent me money, so I was able to join a boarding school. But the money ran out after two years, and I returned to Kakuma for my final year of secondary school.

“In 2014, in my final year of secondary school, three things happened. I was enrolled late and missed the first term. I was given subjects I had no interest in. Then when the exams came, I was forced to write subjects I didn’t study. I failed – I got a D. In the same year, my mother sent me a wife from South Sudan. We were married. Now I have a baby boy.

“That same year, I started volunteering to teach math at this primary school.

“I taught Class 5, 7 and 8 math. A year later, in March of 2015, the head teacher called me. He told me to come and continue. ‘The learners love you, they say you are good’, I was told. And then they started to pay me a little.

“Each day, I would stay in the class until 9pm with students. I would read with them and practice math with them. We would remain as the last ones at the school and lock the gate when we left. At the end of the year, my top student had the highest mark in math from the entire refugee camp – among all the schools.

“I think the students like me because they see themselves. I’m a refugee and from South Sudan, like most of them. I understand what they have experienced. My younger brother was shot in the conflict earlier this year and is still injured. My family is affected by a lack of food – sometimes they go two or three days without eating. I try to help them by sending them a bit of my salary each month.

“My goal is to help these students. Many South Sudanese enroll in school here, but they’re scarred by the past. Children arrive and they’ve lost a parent or sibling. They’ve witnessed gun fighting and other horrors. It takes a long time for them to let go of that hostility and be able to focus on their education. My main fight is to unite them, to create a culture of peace among them within the school. I urge them to commit to their education because it will help them in their future.

“In 2017, I was appointed deputy head teacher. I continued to teach Class 7 and 8 mathematics. At that time, I was supposed to go and work at another school. But the students and my colleagues refused to let me go. They complained and complained and I got to stay here. Two months ago, I was appointed the head teacher.

“You know, I never dreamed of becoming a teacher but this path called me. I love teaching. You become a psychologist in part. You study people and get to understand their lives. You help them problem solve. You get them focused on their education.

“We have had a very big improvement in student’s performance. For example, most students are now able to speak in English and Kiswahili. As well, the number of students who are performing well on their exams is improving. In 2015, the best mark was 325 and in 2016, the best mark was 374. In mathematics, our learners are getting the highest marks in the whole camp. These are true indicators that learning is taking place.

“When you get to see students succeed, their minds and thoughts open up, that’s an great thing to be part of.”

Support children like Par, who deserves the opportunity to live healthily and to realise their dreams they never thought of. You can help turn a child’s life better and fill it with so much hope by Sponsoring A Child .

A pair of dumbbells hits the floor as Tipu Azad finishes a set of chest presses. The disciplined 22-year-old, a former sponsored child, works out most mornings at the gym, moving from one machine to the next in a circuit-training plan.

It’s a utilitarian space — more like a boxing gym than L.A. Fitness — that matches the feel of his no-frills neighborhood in southeast Delhi. Most families here live in poverty, but enough have crossed an economic threshold to where they, like Tipu, have some disposable income to pay for a gym membership.

After finishing his workout, Tipu strolls through the maze of narrow concrete streets back to his home. With a haircut modeled after soccer star David Beckham and a cell phone in his pocket that captures frequent selfies, he waves hello to neighbors and friends he passes.

He shares a four-story home with five brothers, one sister, and their parents, who brought the family to Delhi in 1995 from Bhojpur, a small city in Bihar state about 620 miles away.

An unexpected byproduct of their move: access to World Vision’s presence in Delhi, which has helped each family member flourish. Eldest brother Saddham was sponsored at age 5; now 23, he’s a graphic designer. Sixteen-yearold Amir still has a sponsor in the U.S.

World Vision’s economic empowerment programs also helped transform the family’s future. Because they had tailoring experience, Tipu’s parents, Nasima and Mohammad, received sewing machines to start a business from their home. Their workshop is now a hub of activity with two sewing machines that barely rest. “The entire neighborhood are our customers,” Nasima says with a laugh.

Tipu was sponsored at age 7. But as a younger teenager, he got involved with the wrong crowd — skipping school, loitering, and teasing girls. All that changed when he began spending more time with staff at World Vision’s center in his neighborhood. “It was a mindset shift,” he says. “It’s about taking negative things and making them positive.”

It was a mindset shift. It’s about taking negative things and making them positive —Tipu Azad

All seven siblings have embraced a variety of World Vision programs and workshops. Children’s clubs help them develop leadership skills and a passion for helping others; self-defense training for Heena, the only daughter in the family, inspires confidence; drama performances teach creative expression. Even the library at the World Vision center shaped Tipu’s future by stimulating his appetite for books. He became a regular visitor, checking out novels, biographies, fables, and language instruction books.

Because of his transformative experience as a sponsored child, Tipu started volunteering for a local nonprofit organization in 2011. Soon, he was hired as a full-time staff member in their South Delhi office, teaching children about health, how to respect their parents, social and emotional learning, sports, and the importance of education.

“There are small kids — 6 and 7 years old — smoking, drinking, stealing, not going to school,” he says — ample opportunity for him to make a difference in their lives.

Every day, he facilitates two two-hour sessions for local children. Today, a dozen kids form a circle in the neighborhood park, and Tipu leads them in a song about good hygiene habits before playing a few games and working on soccer skills. The sessions are a hodgepodge of educational activities and games, and through it all Tipu builds trust and reinforces that he’s available for the kids whenever they need him.

He’s proud to be a leader in his community. “A train has both cars and an engine,” he says. “A lot of people say they want to be leaders, but not many do.”

Inspired by a World Vision staff member, several years ago Tipu switched the focus of his college studies from communications to social work, receiving a bachelor’s degree in 2016. He’s now working toward a master’s in social work.

Exhausted from the two kids’ sessions and his own coursework, Tipu ends the day with his siblings. They crowd into their parents’ workshop, joking and talking over one another. Bolstered by their affection and care for each other, the tight-knit family has shone their warmth outward into their community.

“We want two things for our kids,” says their father, reading glasses perched on his nose. “Character — that they be soft-spoken, behave in the proper way, and have good manners. And studying — that they will do something and stand on their own two feet.”

With World Vision’s help and encouragement, Tipu has fulfilled his father’s hopes — and he’s helping other children reach their own potential.

Support children like Tipu, who deserves the opportunity to live healthily and to realise their dreams they never thought of. You can help turn a child’s life better and fill it with so much hope by Sponsoring A Child .

For much of the world, a shortage of toilets is not just an inconvenience, it’s a matter of life and death.

Forty percent of the people on earth — 2.5 billion of the world’s 7 billion men, women, and children — go through their day without improved sanitation. One billion people defecate in the open — in fields, forests, or rivers.

It’s no surprise that the highest death rates for children under 5 occur where open defecation is common. The same places lag behind in social and economic growth, security, gender equity, and care for the environment.

If you want to change the world, it’s not enough to give someone a functioning toilet and sink. They have to understand its value, keep it clean and maintained, and use it.

To improve the lives of children, World Vision provides clean water, toilets, and hygiene training in many schools around the world.

Support children like these, where World Vision focuses in long term sustainability of the community which elevates them from poverty. You can help turn a child’s life better and filled it with so much hope by Sponsoring A Child or donate to World Vision’s Clean Water Fund today!